THE WORLD | IN BRIEF / CHILE

Giant Sea Creature Baffles Scientists

Chilean scientists are baffled by a huge, gelatinous sea creature found on the Pacific coast and are seeking international help to identify the specimen.

The dead creature was mistaken for a beached whale when first reported about a week ago, but experts say the 40-foot-long mass of lumpy gray flesh apparently was an invertebrate.

"We'd never before seen such a strange specimen. We don't know if it might be a giant squid that is missing some of its parts, or maybe it's a new species," said Elsa Cabrera, director of the Center for Cetacean Conservation in Santiago.